Author Topic: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus  (Read 13247 times)

Offline Wildsau

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #20 on: April 23, 2014, 04:27:39 pm »
Note: The seats do fold flat on my 2013. There's no strap or anything, but you fold the bottoms up and fold the seats. Not ideal but occasionally useful. Tom can you confirm if the 2014 does? I'd be inclined to guess it does.

I have a 2013 Focus, which is almost identical to the 2014.... It seems they up-sized the fuel capacity to 54 litres, which is more convenient than the 47 l on my car.  I also have a 2011 Corolla. Both are 5 speed manual transmissions

Comparisons:
The Focus is small. It is only 1 inch longer than a 1990 Corolla (the last car to fit in the garage), though is quite wide. The interior space as a result must suffer. Comparatively the Corolla fits 5 people better - but it's rare 5 people travel in my car.

The Corolla gets much better fuel economy - to the tune of 1 l/100 km. The Focus still only has 2500 ams on it, so this may improve.

The Focus Manual set-up is very nice. Car And Driver applauded it in 2012. Corolla not so much.

Also note that Ford tends to incentivize their cars - I got almost 5000$ off a car that was brought from QC. The TOTAL price with taxes, delivery, and all fees was under 20 000 

I quite like the focus, and other than one quibble with my knee hitting the headlight adjustment once in a while, no complaints.

Thank you for clarifying this. I searched for a way to get those lower seat cushions out of the way, but when I didn't find a latch or strapping, I thought that was it. I appreciate you mentioning it, as this matters to some buyers.

Offline mlin32

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #21 on: April 23, 2014, 07:50:30 pm »
I am sure that Ford has worked on ironing out the kinks in the DCT over time. I've driven a few Fiestas and the Focus with it and have been pleased with them in every case. When I'm on the rental car lot at the airport, I actually choose them on purposes simply cuz I don't like the feel of most automatics.

That said, I guess each one's results may vary. Everyone with a 2004 X3 says to never touch the moonroof cuz it breaks, but I use mine a lot and it's been fine for over 10 years  :)
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Offline Timbrown

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #22 on: April 23, 2014, 09:06:50 pm »
When our 2006 Civic met an untimely end in 2012, we immediately went to a Honda dealership and test drove a new Civic. Similar to all the reviews of the 2012 civic, we were left disappointed. After lots of reading and several more test drives later we settled on the 2012 focus SE. I mostly agree with the review (I find I have lots of headroom and I am 6'2"?). I drove from Washington DC to Ottawa on Monday and as usual, the car is very comfortable. I averaged 6.4L per 100km for the trip is anyone is interested (115Km/h average). I really do enjoy driving this car.

Now for the bad. Do not, under any circumstances, buy this car with an automatic transmission. Ford really dropped the ball here. We've had ours in for work several times due to a shudder from the clutch while leaving stop lights (enough to spill your coffee), the dreaded gear grinding noise while shifting from 2-3 gear and on one occasion, the car trying to kill me. I was driving on the 417 in rush hour in the left lane at about 110km/h when I lost power. The engine was still running, but freewheeling like in neutral. I managed to cross 3 lanes of heavy traffic and got to the right hand shoulder (barely). I regained power again once I slowed to about 30km/h. Car went into the dealership the next morning for extensive transmission work. Not what you would expect from a car that was 6 months old at the time.

Ford has been good about repairing the issues as they come up, but the problem is a terribly designed transmission. The first time they opened my transmission up (yes, I said first time), it was filled with metal shavings and pieces of the clutch. To date they've replaced the clutch twice as well as several other internal transmission parts (I'd have to look it up as I don't remember the specifics). They've reprogrammed the computer at least once.

Though we know a DCT will behave differently then a traditional automatic, you won't know the true nature of this car until you have owned it for a while. I'm not sure how to explain it, other then to say the transmission will feel different as the clutch wears. You can hop from one focus to another and immediately notice the transmission feels different. I have 2 friends with 2012 and 2013 focuses and have driven both (as well as many loaners while mine was being worked on). Some were good, some were not. One friend's car has a bad shudder and occasional gear grinding in the 2-3 shift.

There is a ton of documentation on focusfanatics about these problems. Wish I knew before I bought. I have 53 000km on the car and bought the extended warranty to 120 000km. The car has been okay the last 6 months, but the next sign of trouble it is gone. I don't care how much I lose in depreciation. Warranty or not, not worth the trouble.

Considering Ford knows about these problems, it is disappointing they haven't done anything to fix it for the 2013 and 2014 models. Lots of reported transmission issues for these years as well.

In short....don't even test drive this car if you want an automatic. Stay away.

Yikes!  :o

Some comments:

1. The seats DO fold flat. Numerous journalists repeat this, presumably without actually attempting to see if the statement is true. The headrests pop right out and the cushions flip up, allowing the seats to fold flat. This is hardly the first article to state this, but it's been wrong every time it's been repeated.

2. I'm not sure why people would cross shop something like this (at least in SE Trim, for example), or most of the Mazda3's out there (a good deal less GT's than the mid-range) and a GTI. The cheapest GTI you're going to get that's comparable (and I mean a 5dr) even a manual, is $40,000. That's a ton of money (albeit for a very nice car). But I really wouldn't directly compare a GTI and a Mazda3, even a GT, personally.

3. The manual in this car is good. Really transforms the car.

4. A good CAI and exhaust (or even simply the former) will net serious gains in both torque and hp. Enough to remedy some of the underwhelming torque figure and feeling from lights.

Offline Just_A_Fan

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #23 on: April 23, 2014, 10:01:05 pm »
"The Focus’s trunk is a good, usable size at 674 L."

"Where it drops the ball a bit is in terms of utility (the rear seat space is certainly below average and cargo space disappointing for a hatch listed at 674 L)"

So, which is it - good or bad cargo space?

Offline toolatecrew

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #24 on: April 23, 2014, 11:13:21 pm »
I do like the car even though its quickly becoming dated (even with the refresh) but please Ford if you are going to change anything ..I'd gladly trade all these new grills and such if you would just do something sensible about the manual transmission.

Either put a 6 speed in or at least lengthen out 5th gear so it doesn't rev up over 3 grand at highway speeds. I put in some 300-400Km drive in a DCT Titanium and it was a very quiet composed ride when it was in top gear. To me it seems so much more boomy and loud churning away in 5th in the manual.

The discounts on these things get to be huge at end of the model year. I think they were in the range of 4-6 K last year which is very large in this class.

Offline EV-Light

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #25 on: April 24, 2014, 12:16:13 am »
When our 2006 Civic met an untimely end in 2012, we immediately went to a Honda dealership and test drove a new Civic. Similar to all the reviews of the 2012 civic, we were left disappointed. After lots of reading and several more test drives later we settled on the 2012 focus SE. I mostly agree with the review (I find I have lots of headroom and I am 6'2"?). I drove from Washington DC to Ottawa on Monday and as usual, the car is very comfortable. I averaged 6.4L per 100km for the trip is anyone is interested (115Km/h average). I really do enjoy driving this car.

Now for the bad. Do not, under any circumstances, buy this car with an automatic transmission. Ford really dropped the ball here. We've had ours in for work several times due to a shudder from the clutch while leaving stop lights (enough to spill your coffee), the dreaded gear grinding noise while shifting from 2-3 gear and on one occasion, the car trying to kill me. I was driving on the 417 in rush hour in the left lane at about 110km/h when I lost power. The engine was still running, but freewheeling like in neutral. I managed to cross 3 lanes of heavy traffic and got to the right hand shoulder (barely). I regained power again once I slowed to about 30km/h. Car went into the dealership the next morning for extensive transmission work. Not what you would expect from a car that was 6 months old at the time.

Ford has been good about repairing the issues as they come up, but the problem is a terribly designed transmission. The first time they opened my transmission up (yes, I said first time), it was filled with metal shavings and pieces of the clutch. To date they've replaced the clutch twice as well as several other internal transmission parts (I'd have to look it up as I don't remember the specifics). They've reprogrammed the computer at least once.

Though we know a DCT will behave differently then a traditional automatic, you won't know the true nature of this car until you have owned it for a while. I'm not sure how to explain it, other then to say the transmission will feel different as the clutch wears. You can hop from one focus to another and immediately notice the transmission feels different. I have 2 friends with 2012 and 2013 focuses and have driven both (as well as many loaners while mine was being worked on). Some were good, some were not. One friend's car has a bad shudder and occasional gear grinding in the 2-3 shift.

There is a ton of documentation on focusfanatics about these problems. Wish I knew before I bought. I have 53 000km on the car and bought the extended warranty to 120 000km. The car has been okay the last 6 months, but the next sign of trouble it is gone. I don't care how much I lose in depreciation. Warranty or not, not worth the trouble.

Considering Ford knows about these problems, it is disappointing they haven't done anything to fix it for the 2013 and 2014 models. Lots of reported transmission issues for these years as well.

In short....don't even test drive this car if you want an automatic. Stay away.

Yikes!  :o

Some comments:

1. The seats DO fold flat. Numerous journalists repeat this, presumably without actually attempting to see if the statement is true. The headrests pop right out and the cushions flip up, allowing the seats to fold flat. This is hardly the first article to state this, but it's been wrong every time it's been repeated.

2. I'm not sure why people would cross shop something like this (at least in SE Trim, for example), or most of the Mazda3's out there (a good deal less GT's than the mid-range) and a GTI. The cheapest GTI you're going to get that's comparable (and I mean a 5dr) even a manual, is $40,000. That's a ton of money (albeit for a very nice car). But I really wouldn't directly compare a GTI and a Mazda3, even a GT, personally.

3. The manual in this car is good. Really transforms the car.

4. A good CAI and exhaust (or even simply the former) will net serious gains in both torque and hp. Enough to remedy some of the underwhelming torque figure and feeling from lights.

When did the GTI get so expensive?? I was just at the VW.ca and built a decent GTI 5-door for $32,9k (http://contents.vw.ca/vw4/configurator/index.php?lang=en&model=golf_gti&year=2015)....are you trying to use the price with taxes? because obviously the Focus will cost as much as $40k if you throw in taxes there.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 12:18:01 am by Tauri13 »

Offline EV-Light

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #26 on: April 24, 2014, 12:17:17 am »
I do like the car even though its quickly becoming dated (even with the refresh) but please Ford if you are going to change anything ..I'd gladly trade all these new grills and such if you would just do something sensible about the manual transmission.

Either put a 6 speed in or at least lengthen out 5th gear so it doesn't rev up over 3 grand at highway speeds. I put in some 300-400Km drive in a DCT Titanium and it was a very quiet composed ride when it was in top gear. To me it seems so much more boomy and loud churning away in 5th in the manual.

The discounts on these things get to be huge at end of the model year. I think they were in the range of 4-6 K last year which is very large in this class.

Depreciation is huge as well...anyone paying sticker for a Ford Focus is just insane.

Offline Vanstar

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #27 on: April 24, 2014, 01:10:01 am »
I had a loaded Focus Titanium for two weeks in the southern US last fall. The basic car is excellent: the chassis and handling are first rate. The engine is adequate for what it does. The fuel consumption was good.

The bad: Well the leather was a cheap try at good leather. Pass, not worth it.

-The My Ford Touch thingy was infuriatingly hard to figure out

-The transmission did funny things at odd times and did not feel durable

-The Sony stereo had lots of speakers and amps but didn't sound that well.

-Finally, for the $32,000 on the sticker of this one, no way was the car worth that money. A quick look shows 2012 SE models going for $14,000, vs the test car's $28,000, or 50% depreciation in two years.

There has to be a reason for depreciation like that.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 10:58:55 am by Vanstar »
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Offline Jaeger

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #28 on: April 24, 2014, 05:16:38 am »
2. I'm not sure why people would cross shop something like this (at least in SE Trim, for example), or most of the Mazda3's out there (a good deal less GT's than the mid-range) and a GTI. The cheapest GTI you're going to get that's comparable (and I mean a 5dr) even a manual, is $40,000. That's a ton of money (albeit for a very nice car). But I really wouldn't directly compare a GTI and a Mazda3, even a GT, personally.

"Cheapest" 5-door GTI is $40k?  Say what now??  ???
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Offline toolatecrew

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #29 on: April 24, 2014, 06:46:20 am »
2. I'm not sure why people would cross shop something like this (at least in SE Trim, for example), or most of the Mazda3's out there (a good deal less GT's than the mid-range) and a GTI. The cheapest GTI you're going to get that's comparable (and I mean a 5dr) even a manual, is $40,000. That's a ton of money (albeit for a very nice car). But I really wouldn't directly compare a GTI and a Mazda3, even a GT, personally.

"Cheapest" 5-door GTI is $40k?  Say what now??  ???

Cheapest 5 door is 34 290 BEFORE tax. (6 speed manual)

Cheapest 5 door Mazda 3 GT 28 550 before tax (Automatic Only)

GTI is not 40k...but its definitely not the inexpensive hot hatch it was originally.  No Focus except the ST should even be in the same conversation with a GTI.

Offline quadzilla

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #30 on: April 24, 2014, 06:51:44 am »
The 5 door GTI starts at $32,895 + fees + options + taxes

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #31 on: April 24, 2014, 07:04:51 am »
The 5 door GTI starts at $32,895 + fees + options + taxes

And you can load up a Focus to that price point before taxes as well.  Not getting the whole "you can't compare them" point that was being pitched earlier by someone else.

Offline OliverD

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #32 on: April 24, 2014, 08:40:33 am »
The 5 door GTI starts at $32,895 + fees + options + taxes

And you can load up a Focus to that price point before taxes as well.  Not getting the whole "you can't compare them" point that was being pitched earlier by someone else.

Yeah but you can also add options to the GTI.

The GTI used to come in a lower trim but for '15 only the three door can be had in a base trim while five-door starts well above $30k.

Offline Jaeger

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #33 on: April 24, 2014, 09:09:11 am »
The 5 door GTI starts at $32,895 + fees + options + taxes

And you can load up a Focus to that price point before taxes as well.  Not getting the whole "you can't compare them" point that was being pitched earlier by someone else.

Yeah but you can also add options to the GTI.

The GTI used to come in a lower trim but for '15 only the three door can be had in a base trim while five-door starts well above $30k.

Well sure - but it can't reasonably be said that the two are such worlds apart that they can't be compared or woudn't conceivably be cross-shopped.  Such a dividing line is purely imaginary where there is a price overlap - because price is what defines any given buyer's purchase options more than any other factor.  The guy with $33K to spend (vehicle msrp) on a sporty hatch can choose between a base GTI or a loaded up Focus or Mazda 3.  He'll have to pay freight and taxes regardless of which vehicle he chooses. I can't see why he would put blinders on to any one of those choices based on price - they will all net out in the same ballpark.

Offline pi314

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #34 on: April 24, 2014, 09:53:04 am »
but with 33k they could get a Focus ST....

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #35 on: April 24, 2014, 09:57:02 am »
The 5 door GTI starts at $32,895 + fees + options + taxes

And you can load up a Focus to that price point before taxes as well.  Not getting the whole "you can't compare them" point that was being pitched earlier by someone else.

Yeah but you can also add options to the GTI.

The GTI used to come in a lower trim but for '15 only the three door can be had in a base trim while five-door starts well above $30k.

Well sure - but it can't reasonably be said that the two are such worlds apart that they can't be compared or woudn't conceivably be cross-shopped.  Such a dividing line is purely imaginary where there is a price overlap - because price is what defines any given buyer's purchase options more than any other factor.  The guy with $33K to spend (vehicle msrp) on a sporty hatch can choose between a base GTI or a loaded up Focus or Mazda 3.  He'll have to pay freight and taxes regardless of which vehicle he chooses. I can't see why he would put blinders on to any one of those choices based on price - they will all net out in the same ballpark.

For sure. Of course, a Focus/3 is more comparable to a Golf 1.8T IMO, and priced more closely in line with them.

Offline Vanstar

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #36 on: April 24, 2014, 10:57:58 am »
When our 2006 Civic met an untimely end in 2012, we immediately went to a Honda dealership and test drove a new Civic. Similar to all the reviews of the 2012 civic, we were left disappointed. After lots of reading and several more test drives later we settled on the 2012 focus SE. I mostly agree with the review (I find I have lots of headroom and I am 6'2"?). I drove from Washington DC to Ottawa on Monday and as usual, the car is very comfortable. I averaged 6.4L per 100km for the trip is anyone is interested (115Km/h average). I really do enjoy driving this car.

Now for the bad. Do not, under any circumstances, buy this car with an automatic transmission. Ford really dropped the ball here. We've had ours in for work several times due to a shudder from the clutch while leaving stop lights (enough to spill your coffee), the dreaded gear grinding noise while shifting from 2-3 gear and on one occasion, the car trying to kill me. I was driving on the 417 in rush hour in the left lane at about 110km/h when I lost power. The engine was still running, but freewheeling like in neutral. I managed to cross 3 lanes of heavy traffic and got to the right hand shoulder (barely). I regained power again once I slowed to about 30km/h. Car went into the dealership the next morning for extensive transmission work. Not what you would expect from a car that was 6 months old at the time.

Ford has been good about repairing the issues as they come up, but the problem is a terribly designed transmission. The first time they opened my transmission up (yes, I said first time), it was filled with metal shavings and pieces of the clutch. To date they've replaced the clutch twice as well as several other internal transmission parts (I'd have to look it up as I don't remember the specifics). They've reprogrammed the computer at least once.

Though we know a DCT will behave differently then a traditional automatic, you won't know the true nature of this car until you have owned it for a while. I'm not sure how to explain it, other then to say the transmission will feel different as the clutch wears. You can hop from one focus to another and immediately notice the transmission feels different. I have 2 friends with 2012 and 2013 focuses and have driven both (as well as many loaners while mine was being worked on). Some were good, some were not. One friend's car has a bad shudder and occasional gear grinding in the 2-3 shift.

There is a ton of documentation on focusfanatics about these problems. Wish I knew before I bought. I have 53 000km on the car and bought the extended warranty to 120 000km. The car has been okay the last 6 months, but the next sign of trouble it is gone. I don't care how much I lose in depreciation. Warranty or not, not worth the trouble.

Considering Ford knows about these problems, it is disappointing they haven't done anything to fix it for the 2013 and 2014 models. Lots of reported transmission issues for these years as well.

In short....don't even test drive this car if you want an automatic. Stay away.

Yikes!  :o

Some comments:

1. The seats DO fold flat. Numerous journalists repeat this, presumably without actually attempting to see if the statement is true. The headrests pop right out and the cushions flip up, allowing the seats to fold flat. This is hardly the first article to state this, but it's been wrong every time it's been repeated.

2. I'm not sure why people would cross shop something like this (at least in SE Trim, for example), or most of the Mazda3's out there (a good deal less GT's than the mid-range) and a GTI. The cheapest GTI you're going to get that's comparable (and I mean a 5dr) even a manual, is $40,000. That's a ton of money (albeit for a very nice car). But I really wouldn't directly compare a GTI and a Mazda3, even a GT, personally.

3. The manual in this car is good. Really transforms the car.

4. A good CAI and exhaust (or even simply the former) will net serious gains in both torque and hp. Enough to remedy some of the underwhelming torque figure and feeling from lights.

When did the GTI get so expensive?? I was just at the VW.ca and built a decent GTI 5-door for $32,9k (http://contents.vw.ca/vw4/configurator/index.php?lang=en&model=golf_gti&year=2015)....are you trying to use the price with taxes? because obviously the Focus will cost as much as $40k if you throw in taxes there.

Good luck finding a base model GTI on a VW lot.

Offline Factger

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #37 on: April 24, 2014, 10:59:53 am »
Here are some good and bad points on our Ford Focus.
My ford focus has almost 40 k on it. It does not have any MFT or an auto transmission. I have MFT in our edge which has served us well but I wanted to keep this car “simple” 
 As per this link:  http://www.autos.ca/forum/index.php/topic,82711.0.html

The bad

1) Engine has no low end torque. Below 2000 rpm it has no torque.

2) Interior sport (cloth) seats feel great. Keep you planted but look like crap. The grey insert show stains and dirt . (passenger seat) If ford made the seat totally black it would be better.  I saw a focus with the same trim as mine same color with a sunroof and leather and it looked really, really nice. (1400 option I believe)

3) The dash lay out looks busy but it is not that bad. The screen in the dash is nice the screen in the centre consul screen is crap. (again no MFT)

4) Rear seat is tight. If you test drive a focus, adjust the front seat to where you are comfortable and then sit in the back seat. This is a make it, or break it item.  I really had no issue because I adjust the front seat quite close. If you like your space the rear passenger will be breathing down your neck. (I am 6’ 190lbs for reference) The rear seat is odd though. The author is saying that he put 3 booster seats in the back but if I had 3 kids (I have 2) in the back seat I would not even consider the segment. I had 2 kids in the backseat (with boosters) and I have actually sat between then and to my amazement I was comfortable.  Now I could not take a long trip but I could do it for a 1 hr. or so which is pretty good. Again I don’t have a sunroof which most likely gives some more headroom.

5) Stock stereo sucks because the speakers are really cheap (paper material). Replaced then with some aftermarket speakers and really cleared up the sound ($80 Total).

6) The 5 speed transmission is pretty rock solid but like toolatecrew said it would be nice to have another gear. I would like to have a lower first gear ratio too.  Once I was stuck in traffic on a long hill I was on the clutch the whole time and fried it a little.  Being stuck in traffic on a flat road is ok but being stuck in traffic on a hill  sucks. The 5th gear is good when you are on the highway on cruise with 2 adults. 2 kids and stuff and I do not have to down shift at all but it would still be nice to have a more economical gear. (This is on the hilly 103 Outside of HFX. in NS) The 2700 – 3000 rpm mark is a good spot for this engine. There is some engine drone on the highway especially on the downhill as the engine is braking.

7) Had one dealer visit and it was computer issue.  Replaced it and it was fixed. Ford service was great.

8 ) Sport tires on the Sport package do not last long I think I will only get maybe 30000 km on then. Great handling tire but bad wear characteristics.  Sport rims are really heavy also but look nice.
 
9) Dash is great for the diver but not so for the passenger. The dash depth is huge. It impedes on leg space. Try to clean the thing, it takes a long arm.

10) Next time you look at a focus look at the muffler tip.  Not a big item to some but to me it looks like someone cut it off with a hacksaw. This really cheapens the sporty looks of the car. I know other cars have the same hidden exhaust tips but for me this really looks real cheap.

11) I have no issues with the hatch or trunk space.  But I would curse that Sony base speaker in the trunk if I had it.

12) They are everywhere.

The Good

1) Car has a sporty soul (not fast but sporty). Not too many cars have it anymore. I know the Mazda 3 does (with a 6 speed) and a civic does to a certain extent. It is hard to find a cheap practical car, with good fuel economy and a sporty soul. The focus is a perfect example of a driving a slow car fast, within the boundaries of the speed limit. (10 to 15 km above the posted limit) the car is truly fun. Take it beyond that you realize you are driving an underpowered economy car.

2) The engine sucks under 2000rpm but from 3500 to 5000 it really sings. (Revs nicely to 7000rpm) The engine is underrated even though it does not feel like it.  It has been dynode at 148 hp at the wheels stock (5speed) so it is roughly almost 170hp.  Intake, exhaust and tune opens this car up a little but you are looking at 2 grand to do it. If you want to spend more than $3000 to 5000 in mods you might as well get a ST imo.

3) Get 6.5 in summer 7.5 in winter and that is pretty awesome because I drive it on the sporty side and not eco side.
 
4) Find the side mirrors on the focus are excellent.  I use they thing every 20 sec and love them, especially coming off on ramps and when people are coming on to the highway. Excellent excellant mirrors.

5) Driving position for me is excellent.  The Arm rest is in a perfect position.  Dash controls within perfect reach

6) Car looks pretty good. Has a clean side profile which I like. Taillights are a little weird.


Edit: I know I have posted more bad points than good but the good points especially #1  far out weighs the all bad ones. I look forward to driving it in my every day boring work drive.   




I think all major sellers in this segment are great. Cruze, Civic, Corolla, Mazda 3, Forte & Elantra all are smart buys, but to buy any of them without an incentive you have to be nuts. For instance  if you did not get over 3500 incentives on that 28k focus I would just walk away period.  Based on list price the ford is not a value proposition but with incentive well who knows and that goes with any car in this segment.

My point of view after a yr.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 11:56:28 am by Factger »

Offline dirtyjeffer

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #38 on: April 24, 2014, 03:29:41 pm »
our last 6 vehicles were Ford models, including 3 Focus' (Mustang, Grand Marquis and Taurus being the others)...the 2007 Focus we had before (it was a lease we decided not to buy out) had too many problems that shouldn't have happened on a car only a few years old (we got it new)...we even turned it in 4 months early (i still had to pay those 4 months, of course) as i was worried something else was going to happen, leaving me with a bill as the car was no longer in warranty...our Kia and Hyundai cars have been problem free now for 2 and 3 years respectively...had our Focus been better, we would have bought it out (that was the original intention).
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Offline Waterlooresident

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Re: Test Drive: 2014 Ford Focus
« Reply #39 on: April 25, 2014, 09:44:36 pm »
Quote
I agree that the Mazda 3 is currently the best hatch in this category of car but I don't think you realize that the new Golf is only a short time away and it should be right there at the top. ......... I might go with the VW as it's turbo 1.8L will be a hoot.

Yes, that's true.  The turbo does create a lot more fun in the early years of the car's life.  If you are only planning on keeping a VW, BMW, Audi, or M-Benz for less than 4 or 5 years then go ahead and buy one, but if you plan on keeping it for 8 to 10 years then stay FAR AWAY from German garbage, they fall apart soon after the warranty is over.   That turbo that gave you so much fun in the beginning will be a PURE NIGHTMARE for you after year 6 or 7.